1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the provision of communications services using terminal devices that include computing devices connected to packet-switched communications networks.
2. Discussion of the Background
Users of personal computers (PCs) and other general purpose digital computing devices have been able to engage in voice communications using these devices for many years. Software for enabling PC-to-PC communication over the Internet has been available since 1991. More recently, refined commercial grade products have emerged such as those offered by VocalTec, Net2Phone, Netspeak, and many others. By utilizing the Internet or other packet switched networks, such products have given rise to convergent voice and data solutions as well as created the potential for commercial applications in the realm of e-commerce.
The assignee of the present application, eStara Inc., has addressed some of the limitations of these solutions by inventing methods for installing and initializing media applications using a “thin client” model. These methods are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/272,139, entitled “Public Web Phone System,” Ser. No. 09/637,805, entitled “Universal Internet Based Telephony System That Provides Ubiquitous Access For Subscribers From Any Terminal Device,” and Ser. No. 09/771,993, entitled “Internet Telephony for e-Commerce.” The contents of each of these applications are hereby incorporated herein by reference. These methods and processes created a particular opportunity for enabling end users to make contact with call centers operated by merchants associated with a web site by clicking on icons displayed on web pages. In particular, when such an icon is clicked, an Internet telephony call between the end user (using their terminal as an Internet phone) and a call center agent is established without requiring the end user to have any Internet telephony software previously installed on their terminal, all the while allowing the end user to remain on the merchant's web page from which the call was initiated. The resulting voice connections link an end user and a call center agent who may be using either a telephone or a voice-over-Internet enabled computer device.
One of the obvious problems in providing voice connections to link PC users to call center agents is providing caller identification in a mixed telecommunications environment, where the caller is using an Internet based or packet switched network and the call center agent is equipped with a telephone device attached to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and a computing device that provides automated support for order entry, customer service, or other processes. These problems are addressed in commonly-owned co-pending application Ser. No. 09/771,993.
Another issue common in e-commerce interactions between customers or prospects and call center agents is a desire to share text, multimedia, or graphical data in addition to the voice interaction. There are a variety of well-known methods for “pushing” data or for “co-browsing” by two or more web users, but all of these methods depend on having a known IP address or universal resource locator (URL) for all parties to the interactive session. In the case of a mixed telephony environment as described above, an Internet telephony service may not be able to identify which call center computing device is associated with which telephone conversation. This is especially true when calls are distributed by an automated call distribution device attached to the public switched network that does not communicate data with other call center systems (such as customer relationship management software). Methods that address this issue are also disclosed in co-pending application Ser. No. 09/771,993. However, these methods do not discuss voice/data synchronization involving automated voice processing systems, such as interactive voice response systems, rather than human agents.